There is something really powerful, about a man being a man, and a woman being a woman.

What does being a man mean though in today's day and age? And what does being a woman mean ? We barely have any healthy role models to go by, so it appears we are fumbling into some sort of truth that feels good and relevant to NOW.

I've learnt a lot about this dynamic dance from the vast times I have spent over in places like India, Indonesia, and the Middle East. Some say its old fashioned, dis empowering etc etc, but I have learnt to understand the power in the way these cultures relate...

There also are many different ways we can attempt to understand masculinity and femininityfrom a conscious - the archetypes is a great tool. The psychologist, Carl Gustav Jung, used the concept of archetype in his theory of the human psyche. He believed that universal, mythic characters—archetypes—reside within the collective unconscious of people the world over.

So this work has consequently flowed into many realms and bodies of work of understanding oneself, as either a man or a woman.

Essentially we are working with the same energies whether man or woman boded being: the 'lover', 'king/queen', 'warrior/warrioress', 'witch/magician', are a few of the core archetypes we can explore in certain bodies of work - my offering of 'Shakti Yoga' is one of them... exploring different faces of the Goddess Feminine energies & how that translates into today's modern world / man & woman also.

So lets talk about polarity.

Tantra is all about the union & expansion of these two divine energies that interplay on both a metaphysical & physical realm, 1. Shakti (feminine). 2. Shiva (masculine). Shakti is the energy of creation & Shiva is the energy of consciousness & awareness. Shiva holds the container for Shakti to Dance in. So you could look at a building as an example, the structure built is Shiva energy, and the creative energy in motion that occurs inside those walls is Shakti at play. Alikened to our physical selves - Shakti is the creative force inside of us, that births projects that births children, that rebirths self every cycle, and Shiva is our consciousness that holds that container & clarity so creation can birth.

This dynamic dance is occurring inside EVERY BODY.

So we are taught in Tantra that the whole point is about sacred union. The balancing of these two energies. WHERE? in the heart space.

So when man meets woman, woman meets man. The attraction only arises because of two polarities at play. Like a magnet, they cannot meet if they are both a positive charge, or both a negative charge.

So for some, a man may be more polarised in his Shakti, so he will often attract a woman who is more polarised in her Shiva. Or woman is more polarised in her Shakti, man in his Shiva... If both are polarised in one, in the same energy, this can create disharmony in the attraction.

Some Tantra schools teaches that men should work on cultivating as much shiva energy as possible, conscsiouness - stillness - presence. And woman should cultivate her Shakti - creator - birth - open heart.

Other Tantra schools of thought teach that we are both and we need to explore both masculine & feminine inside of us to come together as two whole beings. I used to agree with this.

However, why would God create us man and woman if we were to just dissolve into self inner union? Then we wouldn't actually need each other at all. And true Tantra & Yoga is about union.... yes outer and yes inner. But approaching from such a dogmatic standpoint that we must be fully integrated inner union before we can have outer union is just ridiculous ... It is quite rare that any human on this planet is fully in inner union.

God created us as polar opposites, to come into union. TOGETHER.

To deny that denies our humanness, and human self is just as important as our spiritual self..

We are human, here to have THAT experience. And divine love, is felt through human love.

That is the miracle.

To merge together, and what do we create with that union? We balance all duality, IN LOVE.

So it doesn't really matter what polarity you are operating in, we always swing in the pendulum, across our lifespan... But important to still remember we need each other...

Man needs woman, Woman needs man. Shakti is nothing without Shiva, Shiva is nothing without Shakti... This is the dynamic dance.

The two must be honoured & surrendered to one another. For the power of love arises in remembering who we are in the reflection of our opposite ... If we look at ourselves in the mirror we can see self, but that only extends to self... it only gets us so far. Until we learn from others different aspects of self in the differences that arise between us.

We must always accept ourselves wholly. And once this occurs, our reflection arises who is also accepting their natural essence. Then these two ends of the pendulum spectrum can learn from one another through differences... And where do they meet.... The heart space. Where nothing else matters.....